Pokemon Past and Future
by StevenFriday
Summary: Time is of the essence! Come and follow the adventures of Xander as he travels around the Kinshu Region battling Gym Leaders and collecting over 100 new Pokemon and more! An old team has reappeared in the Kinshu Region and it's up to Xander to stop them, with a surprising twist and a sad ending to a very upbeat character. So join Xander in this once-in-a-lifetime adventure!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Vs Herald**

A young boy no older than the age of ten with his large, black afro, broad nose and dark skin sleeps in his bed. He rests comfortably in his room that lies at the end of the hall. His mother is awake downstairs preparing a large breakfast for her son's big day. Today's the day he gets his very own Pokémon!

The young boy's alarm goes off. His eyes shoot open. He jumps out of bed and quickly runs to the bathroom to do his morning business and he then rushes back to his room after washing up, puts on his clothes—a blue, high-collar jacket hat buttons down diagonally, a pair of black pants, white shoes and a pair of lanyards looping from his pockets—and runs downstairs. He'll get pack his bag when he comes back. The boy jumps the last few steps of the staircase and runs into the kitchen, past the counter where his food is waiting for him and runs out the door.

"Xander! Come back! You haven't had breakfast!" His mother calls after him. But he's too excited to even stop for food right now. Xander runs to the parking where his bike is waiting for him on a bike rack, and once he gets on, he's off to Professor Redwood's laboratory.

Xander lives smack dab in the center of the Kinshu Region in the almost always partly cloudy Alabar City. There are hills galore. Hummarids, green hummingbird Pokémon with blue plumes and large, yellow eyes, are flying about, sucking the nectar from the various flowering plants across the city. Coneras—Pokémon that look like corn with the husk still on with red eyes—are absorbing the sunlight in hordes in a park near Xander's house. Most of the housing complexes rest upon the hillsides with cars lined up on the streets. There aren't many houses here. A lot of people live in apartments in the city. It's still early in the morning, so not a lot of people are out yet, but in the early afternoon, the streets are packed like the ones in Castelia City in the Unova Region. Xander takes in a breath of fresh air, knowing that this will be the last time he'll breathe the air from this city for a very long time. Xander puts on the brakes, stopping by a white, two-story building with a red roof. Above the double-door entry, the symbol of a Pokéball is painted above in a lighter shade of red than the roof. Professor Redwood's building is where many young trainers from across the Kinshu region receive their first Pokémon. They are either delivered to the Pokémon Center in that city or the child will have to come here in person. Luckily for Xander, he doesn't have to travel a bunch of miles to get a Pokémon. He lives right here.

He parks his bike in the bike rack in front of the lab building and walks inside. The lobby is huge and also acts partly as a Pokémon Center. There are two in total in Alabar City, one of the PokéCenters being standalone. Xander immediately goes where he needs to be, walking past Nurse Joy's counter after checking in with her, and travels the halls to Redwood's office. Audinos and Chanseys walk up and down the hospital-like hallways carrying notepads and surgical equipment for Nurse Joy and the other nurses. The Professor's office is just to the left. He makes that turn and sees two boys, brothers, standing right outside. He grimaces at the sight of one of them—Herald.

Herald is obnoxious. He's loud and arrogant with a prominent atmosphere that makes you want to punch him in the face with a cactus that was set on fire. Though he doesn't admit it, Jada, Herald's little brother, who is also his fraternal twin, despises him too. But he can't seem to bring himself to tell him. He has the self-esteem of a Magikarp and the courage of a chicken nugget when it comes to people. His skills with Pokémon are outstanding though. He has a natural ease around Pokémon, even around Pokémon as big as his father's Aggron, which is incredible. He once calmed it down from a temper tantrum when it was time to take it to the PokéCenter for its annual check-up. (Its organs are too small for its body.) Herald, on the other hand, is terrible with Pokémon and was almost killed by a swarm of Beedrill when he was little for throwing rocks at their Kakuna. It was Jada who saved him by asking the Beedrill to calm down, but why Herald still tortures Jada like the way he does bothers Xander to this very day.

"Hey, Xander, come over here!" Herald calls, noticing him hiding behind the corner of the hallway. Xander sighs, not wanting to talk to Herald at the very least. Herald lets go of Jada. He was receiving, once again, one of Herald's notorious noogies. "Aren't you excited to get your very own Pokémon?" Xander shrugs. "But I'm sure my Pokémon will be far superior to yours." See, that's what we're talking about here, folks: that irritating arrogance. He's going to get his comeuppance one of these days. Hopefully by Jada.

"Hey Xan," Jada says timidly. "I hope I get the Fire-type. Fire's always been my favorite type of Pokémon." Xander says he hopes to get water.

"I want the water type!" Herald yells.

"You'll get the Pokémon that you get, Herald," Professor Redwood says, walking out of his office door. He is a tall, lanky man with a beard. He wears brown pants, a pair of dark shoes, a grey polo and his signature lab coat. A Tynamo floats near his head. "I am glad to see you three made it here on time. Come in, come in. Time must not be wasted lollygagging." Redwood steps back into his office, Herald proudly walks in first, pushing past Jada, who follows after, and then Xander.

The office is cramped and small with papers lying about everywhere in stacks. On the big desk in the center of the mess, there's a cylindrical containment unit holding three Pokéballs sitting inside quietly, waiting for it to be taken by a potential young trainer.

"In these three Pokéballs are your future partners and lifetime companions. They will be with you from thick or thin, and even in life and death if your relationship gets you that far. Now, who's going first?"Herald shoots up his hand, but Xander interjects with a suggestion: rock, paper, scissors. "Good idea, Xander. It's only fair." Herald shoots Xander a look. He just shrugs in response.

Jada, Herald, and Xander each extend a hand and they count it off. "Rock. Paper. Scissors!" Xander throws scissors. Herald throws paper. Jada throws paper. Herald's mouth drops in surprise. His eyebrow furrows and he shouts, "Best two out of three!"

"No," Redwood says sternly. "No wasting time. Xander won, so he gets to choose first. Xander, if you will."

Xander steps over to the containment unit, heart beating ever so fast from excitement and nervousness. He presses the red button on the side of the container and it opens with a _Fwisss!_ The Pokéballs are shiny and new. Their smooth reflective surfaces mirror Xander's wondering eyes.

"On the left is the Grass-type Pokémon, Seadling; the middle is the Fire-type, Saebcub; and the right one is the Water-type, Sealot. Choose wisely and—"

"Don't choose the Water-type! I've already called dibs!" Herald interrupts. Out of either passive-aggressiveness or just out of spite, Xander chooses Sealot, the Water-type. "Aw, what!"

Xander throws the Pokéball in the air, and from the red flash of light, the Seal Pokémon is released. "Sealot!" It cries, with the sound of a ten-year-old boy. Its body looks similar to that of a Seel except it has no horn on its forehead and its body is light blue with a white, snowflake pattern.

"Your turn, Herald." Redwood says.

"Fine, but since Xander got _my _Water-type, I'm getting the Grass-type." Xander chooses the left Pokéball and throws it in the air. A Seadling, a small, green, ovular Pokémon that has small, beady eyes with a pink flower budding on its head, looks around the room, kind of shyly. It's body is shaped like a pistachio nut.

"Seadling!" It cries in a high-pitched voice.

"Alright, last, but not least, Jada, who gets the Fire-type by default."

"I-I, uh, I don't mind," Jada stutters. "I like Fire." Jada grabs the Pokéball and throws it in the air.

"Saeb!" The Saebcub cries in a raspy boy voice. The Pokémon is nothing but a small, red-orange cat with black spots dotting the fur. It doesn't have its fangs yet for it is still too young. It shakes itself, dirtying the room with soot spilling out of the spots of its fur.

"Congratulations on receiving your first Pokémon, you three!"


	2. Chapter 2: Vs Seadling

**Chapter 2: Vs. Seadling**

"Now, I have a favor for you all," Professor Redwood says, shuffling through the drawers in his desk. "I would like you to record all 892 Pokémon with these." Professor Redwood holds up a red device with a touch screen center, a home button in the center and an analog stick on the bottom left hand corner. It's a simple design, really, but when he turns it on, the entire screen flashes brightly showing empty spaces within on the screen. Those must be where the Pokédex entries go. "Now as you can see, this is a Pokédex, a device that allows a trainer to record a Pokémon that was previously unknown to them. These three devices were given to me by an old friend in the Kanto Region. He's recently passed and I've been graciously given the task of continuing his work, through you guys. So you each get one. I've made a few modifications to fit this day of age." Redwood hand a Pokédex to each trainer. Xander flips open his new Pokédex and looks at the contents. It's obviously the newest model and its slick, futuristic design gives the impression that the Professor wanted people to have something easy to use and virtually weightless for easy carrying.

Xander thanks Redwood for the Pokédex. He turns the device on, pressing a button on the side of it. It lights up, turning the home screen showing a Pokéball rocking side to side while dots signify loading underneath. The Pokéball opens and a yellow colored menu pops up listing actions in small black letters: Scan Pokémon, Pokédex Entires, Pokémon Obtained, Pokémon Travelling, Pokémon Status and Settings. Xander goes to the "Scan Pokémon" choice, presses a button that reads "SCAN" in bold, all-capitalized letters on the bottom center of the touch screen, and aims the camera at Sealot. A flash of green light moves around Sealot from side to side and it blinks off. _Bing! _The Pokédex has made a new entry!

"Sealot, the Seal Pokémon," it says in a very natural, very human male voice despite being a machine. "Sealot are mostly dim-witted and their IQ is close to that of a Quagsire. Their thick skin allows them to resist the harsh, cold temperatures of the Artic."

Jada scans his Pokémon after Xander shows him what to do. He got confused trying to navigate such a straightforward device. The Pokédex scans Jada's Saebcub. "Saebcub, the Small Cat Pokémon. Saebcub are very playful Pokémon, but since they use their claws while having fun, people misunderstand and assume they are attacking. Be careful around their mouths for they are teething."

Herald scans his Pokémon, rejecting help from both Jada and Xander. "Seadling, the Blossoming Pokémon. Seadling emit a very nice smell from their flower. When the petals fall, it is a sign they are close to evolving."

"Well, now that I've finished, you all should prepare for your journey," Professor Redwood suggests, sitting down at his desk.

"I want a Pokémon battle!" Herald yells, looking at Xander with intensity.

"Um, sure, but not here though," Redwood replies, looking around his cramped room. "Let's go somewhere else.

Later, somewhere else, Jada and Redwood sit in the Pokémon rehabilitation center in the makeshift arena where Pokémon try to use their abilities again. Herald and Xander stand on opposite ends. Xander has an indifferent look on his face and it's making Herald angry.

"Okay, I'm sure you both know how a battle works, but I'm going to explain the rules to you simply," Redwood says, getting up. "I will be the referee and the battle goes on until a Pokémon faints, understood?"

"Yeah," Herald says, Xander nodding. "Let's get on with it!"

"Voice control, Herald," Redwood says. "Alright, when the Pokéballs hit the ground, the battle begins!" Xander and Herald take out their Pokéballs, pressing the center button to enlarge them. They throw the devices in the air and when they hit the ground, a flash of light escapes the Pokéballs.

"Seal-LOT!"

"Seadling!"

"Begin!"

Herald checks his Pokédex and presses the "Pokémon Status" option. Along with health and stats, it also gives him a list of the Pokémon's moves. Seadling: Tackle, Growl. Xander does the same: Sealot: Pound, Growl.

"Seadling! Use Tackle."

"Growl," Xander says. The Seadling charges. Sealot emits a loud, guttural sound that pushes Seadling back a couple inches, but it still tries to finish the command. Sealot doesn't move and takes the hit from the grass Pokémon. It doesn't seem to do much damage. "Pound." Sealot quickly turns around and slaps Seadling with its tail. The grass Pokémon flies back to Herald's side, rolling on the ground in pain. It struggles to stand, but it manages.

Xander and Sealot wait for the next attack. Knowing how transparent Herald is, Xander is going to wait for him to do the same thing. "Seadling, use Tackle again!" Seadling charges once more, and Xander repeats the same attack commands and Herald's Seadling finds itself rolling back to its owner. Herald's face turns red. He knows he's going to lose.

"Herald, a tip, command the Pokémon to dodge the Sealot's attacks," Redwood says.

"Don't tell me what to do, I got this!" Herald repeats the same command again. And Sealot has Seadling rolling back to him. This time, however, Seadling doesn't get up. It's fainted.

"Seadling cannot get up! Xander wins!" Redwood announces, even though it's unneeded. It was obvious Herald was going to lose. "Herald, I would like to talk to you afterwards."

"I want a turn!" Jada shouts, excitedly jumping up from his seat. He runs over to where Herald is standing.

"I don't see why you would want to battle. You'd be a terrible trainer!" Herald attacks, peeved at his loss.

"I'm not the one who lost." Jada says, pushing past his brother who is at a loss for words. He clenches his fist and then stomps away, returning his fainted Seadling to its Pokéball in anger.


	3. Chapter 3: Vs Saebcub

**Chapter 3: Vs Saebcub**

"Alright, Jada, you know the rules and since Xander is the winner, he has the choice of first move."

"Jada's first," Xander says. Redwood nods in approval and let it be. Jada and Xander take out their Pokéballs. They throw them up in the air, and once they hit the ground, the battle begins.

"Saeb!"

"Sealot."

"Begin!"

Jada, who previously checked his Pokémon's moves during Herald's battle with Xander, knows his Saebcub's moves and doesn't have to make Xander wait. "Tackle!" Xander wasn't ready. Sealot is hit with a powerful tackle and it is thrown out of bounds. Saebcub returns to his side of the arena. Sealot slides back into the fray.

Xander's not going to win this. He's sure of it. Sealot can't move well on land, so pound isn't going to work without being close up. "Growl," Xander commands. Sealot uses the move.

"Dodge it and use tail whip!" Saebcub rolls out the way of Sealot's growl. It turns around and starts whipping its tail in the air randomly. "Now, tackle!"

"Dodge it!" Sealot doesn't register the command fast enough and is greeted with a powerful hit to its side. Sealot cries out, being thrown into Xander. He catches the seal Pokémon with both arms and they fall over. Redwood raises his eyebrows, amused. Sealot has fainted.

"Well, then," Redwood says, "Jada wins."

Jada jumps in excitement. "Return, Saebcub! I won! I won!" Xander returns Sealot to its Pokéball, thanking it. Jada does the same.

"Good job, you too," Redwood says. "Hearld, if you would join me in my office." Redwood walks out of the arena with Herald reluctantly following after.

_(Inside Professor Redwood's office…)_

"What do you want?" Herald asks, crossing his arms. Redwood stares down at the boy intensely.

"You are terrible with Pokémon," Redwood says bluntly. "You lost because you and your Seadling couldn't connect with each other. Xander knew you'd keep doing the same thing, and with Sealot's high defenses, he was able to win without taking much damage. He lost to Jada because he was able to connect his mind with his Saebcub. He was able to come up with a different strategy each time he and his Saebcub charged, utilizing the Pokémon's speed and knowing that Sealot is slow. That's how he won. I even gave you help, but you denied it. What's going on?"

Herald says nothing. He scrunches his face in anger with shaking fists at his sides. He opens his mouth to speak but he doesn't. He can't say anything because he knows it's true, except he doesn't want to admit it. "I don't have time for this." Herald stomps out of the room, leaving Redwood disappointed and shaking his head.


End file.
